Tour the Area

Located in the rolling hills of Sussex County, there lives more than 24,000 people who call Vernon Township their home. Many more people pass through Vernon each year, be it for a day long getaway or to follow the path of the Appalachian Trail. The independent township of Vernon was established on November 19, 1792. The 68 square miles which marked the town's borders over 200 years ago have not changed since. However, the population of Vernon, which as a mere 1548 people as recently as 1950, has steadily grown since the 1960's, when the ski industry was introduced to the area. Today, the town's 5,451 students make it the largest school system in Sussex County.

The Walkill River, which forms Vernon's northern boundary, nourishes one of the northeast's protected wildlife refuge areas. The Walkill and its tributary, Pochuck Creek, flow north into the Hudson river. The nearby Delaware river, to the west, is also rich in history and culture. This land stretches from the New Jersey Highlands to the fertile Black Dirt Region of the neighboring lower Hudson Valley in New York and its unique agricultural heritage. It is filled with rich forests teaming with life, pristine lakes and streams, the Appalachian Trail, bird-watching areas, scenic roads, and unexplored wonders.

Vernon occupies a special place as a four-season destination. With ski slopes in winter that enjoy a worldwide reputation as an Olympic training ground, Vernon is just the place to enjoy cozy fireplaces within the many bed & breakfast inns that adorn its countryside. Or, you may prefer the more luxurious accommodations of a fine hotel or condominium – perfect places to welcome spring. Summers bring Mountain Creek's spectacular Waterpark. Enjoy fall's special charm among the pick-your-own apple orchards, and be sure to visit the award-winning wineries and distilleries, and the area restaurants that feature local artisanal breads, herbs, cheese, vegetables, and mouth-watering sweet corn!

Vernon New Jersey History
Vernon Township's destiny has always been shaped by its geography. On the east are the rough and rugged Wawayanda and Hamburg Mountains. To the west is Pochuck Mountain and beyond lie the Wallkill River and meadowlands. Between the two lies narrow but fertile Vernon Valley. This geography is a product of the last ice age when a mile-thick glacier plowed over Vernon. Continue reading>

Vernon Village History
So join me, if you care to, for a seat-of-the-pants, completely idiosyncratic barnstorming tour of historic Vernon Village--some old, some new, some long-gone, with the caution that far more research needs to be done to fully understand the history of the sites herein mentioned. Sources for this include: a 1920 newspaper article by Henry B. DeKay, giving his recollections of Vernon Village going back into the 1850s; the 1860 Map of Sussex County; aerial surveys, and a plotting of historic deeds in the village by Richard M. Stevens of Greendell.

Pochuck Trail
The AT relocation was a joint effort of cooperating federal, state and local governments, private organizations and volunteers. It began in 1980 when the DEP and National Park Service started buying the needed land as buffer for the AT. "They bought the corridor and then the question was, 'how do we get across it?'" says Tibor Latinscics, bridge project engineer.